100 Ways To Say It
by Ari and Mo
Summary: 100 stories of love, fluff, and loss.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I saw the 100-challenge on devart and thought it would be fun to write drabbles for them! Hence this collection. Enjoy! D

Disclaimer: Own Naruto, the 100-challenge, or devart, I do not.

**#1-10**

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#1: Introduction

_Word Count 277_

Shikaku, a tall, scarred, dark-haired man, grinned as he walked into the Yamanaka household, holding his three-year-old son, Shikamaru, by the hand.

"Inochi! You old dog! Where are you?" He called out, looking around the foyer.

"Shikaku!" Inochi, a blonde man about Shikaku's height, burst from a room off to the side of that hall, holding a girl about Shikamaru's age on his shoulders. Shikaku beamed and greeted his friend before letting go of his son's sticky hand.

"Shikamaru, this is Daddy's old friend Inochi. And that's Inochi's daughter, Ino. She's your age. You two are going to be such good friends!" Shikaku explained to his son while Inochi lifted his young daughter off his shoulders and placed her on the floor.

"But, _Daddy_!" Shikamaru protested. "Ino's a _girl_. Girls have _cooties_."

Shikaku sighed. "Suck it up and be a man, son. Face the cooties," He said, clapping his son on the shoulder before heading off to the side with Inochi, laughing. Ino walked over and placed her small, kidish hands on her hips.

"So. Let's play house!" Ino chirped. Shikamaru groaned.

"Do I _have _to?"

"Yup! I'll be the mommy and _you_ be the daddy," Ino instructed him. Shikamaru whined. Ino furrowed her brows and grabbed his arm. "C'mon. Fluffy and Neko can be the babies!" She said, pulling him to her playroom.

Leaning against the wall, Shikaku and Inochi laughed. "Reminds me of _my _wife when we were kids," Shikaku told his friend. Inochi nodded.

When it was time for Shikamaru and Shikaku to leave, Ino stood on the porch waving at Shikamaru's back long after the father and son had passed out of sight.

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#2: Love

_Word Count131_

Kurenai got her first taste of love at the age of 12. At first, she had thought it was just a childhood crush, like the ones all her friends had, but it was different then that.

None of her friends could get past the fact that Asuma smoked already. They saw their crush's flaws and left them, but Kurenai embraced his flaws and liked him more.

None of her friends dreamed about forever. Maybe Kurenai had just been naïve for 12, but she always, always wanted forever from Asuma.

Her friends needed their respective crush's gaze, but Kurenai was perfectly content just watching Asuma through dark red eyes.

Kurenai loved him at the age of 12, and would love him until the day she died, she thought. And she thought right.

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#3: Light

_Word Count241_

"Tenten? You are okay?" The girl sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She'd hit her head during practice and been knocked out cold. And standing over her, with one hand out to help her up was none other than Rock Lee, her teammate, occasional punching bag, and almost-friend. Tenten groaned.

"I'm fine, Lee!" Tenten snapped. _I don't need help_, she thought bitterly as she struggled to her feet, wobbling a bit.

"Are you sure?" This voice belonged to Neji, her heartthrob, her crush, her dream boy. He stood to her other side. Tenten blushed a little.

"Well, actually..." She started. Neji grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Here, let me help," He said. Tenten smiled, and continued to do so as he helped her down the rough path from the training grounds, until her dark eyes fell upon a brooding Rock Lee who watched her with hurt eyes. Tenten felt bad.

_He only wanted to help, _she reprimanded herself. _He's not too bad. Maybe I just need to see him in a different light._

"Hey, Lee!" She called back to the sulking oddball. "Can you help, too?" Lee perked up and raced forward to join his team, taking Tenten's other arm.

"Certainly, Tenten!" He said brightly as they walked out from beneath the cover of the trees. A ray of sunlight lit up Lee's face, and Tenten felt herself smile. _Or maybe,_ she thought, _this light could work too. _

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#4: Dark

_Word Count355_

"It's so dark out!" Sakura exclaimed, shrinking away from the window. She was 7, still an academy student, and Iruka-sensei had held her after class to ask her that ended up having a very long explanation.

"It's not too bad." Sakura felt herself turn red as she recognized the voice that spoke from Iruka-sensei's doorway. Leaning against the doorframe was Sasuke, her one love, her main man, her Sasuke.

"You don't think it's scary?" She asked nervously. Iruka came up behind her.

"Need me to walk either of you home?" Iruka asked kindly, looking between his two students. Sasuke shook his head.

"No thanks, Iruka-sensei," He said calmly.

"I'll be fine, Iruka-sensei," Sakura heard herself say, not wanting to look cowardly in front of Sasuke. Nodding cheerfully, Iruka went to his desk as the two left the Academy's grounds and headed off.

Sakura looked around fearfully. She was afraid of the dark! Why hadn't she asked Iruka-sensei to walk her home!

"You okay?"

Sakura shrieked and flung around, a practice-kunai in her hand. Sasuke glared at her from a few feet back as she felt her face turn red. She quickly returned the fake knife to it's holster. "Oh! Sasuke-kun! I thought you were..." A monster, she wanted to add, but she didn't want to seem like a sissy.

"You're scared of the dark aren't you?"

"Am not!" She said defiantly. He shrugged.

"Whatever," He said, and began to walk towards the Uchiha estate, leaving Sakura alone in the dark. Looking nervously at the menacing shadows that threatened to engulf her, Sakura let out another shriek and ran after Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" She yelled, grabbing his arm when she caught up to him. "I'm scared. Can you walk me home?"

The boy looked down at her with a closed face. "Okay."

Together, the two walked to Sakura's house, Sakura clinging to his arm like a lost dog the whole time. When they reached her doorstep, Sakura beamed at him and raced in the door. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" She said brightly. He nodded curtly and headed off towards home.

Sakura was never afraid of the dark again.

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#5: Seeking Solace

_Word Count302_

Hinata sniffed, rubbing her eyes wildly with the back of her hands as she walked blindly down the streets of Leaf, the morning workers calling cheerful heralds the Hyuuga heir as she passed their stalls. Purposefully, she strode up to the door of one large estate off of a main street.

"Hinata?" Kiba stood in his yard, playing with Akamaru. "Are you _crying_?"

"K-Kiba? C-Can I talk to-to you?" She struggled to get the words past the lump in her throat. Kiba nodded and plopped himself down exactly where he stood, patting the grass beside him. "H-Here?" She asked as Akamaru danced at her heals.

"No different then any place else, is it?" Kiba asked, concerned. Hinata nodded and sat down carefully beside him.

"I-It's about Hanabi. S-She says D-Dad hates me and-and that I'm a terrible heir and that she hates me and wishes-wishes I was nev-never born," Hinata said, looking about ready to cry as she spoke of her little sister. "Sh-She says I'm a-a loser and a dropout an-and a s-sissy." Kiba frowned and put an arm around his teammate, rocking her like a baby.

"Your sister is a loser if she says that about her big sister," He crooned as Akamaru licked Hinata's tears off her face. She let out a giggle-sob as he did so. Kiba continued assuring her for a minute, and then Hinata stood.

"Thank, Kiba," She said, sniffing. "You were a big help." She then walked off, headed back to face her little sister. Kiba stood and waved at her back.

"Bark!" Akamaru woofed. Kiba grinned.

"Yeah, she is sorta pretty, isn't she? I'm glad she came to me for help, aren't you?"

"Bark! Bark!"

"I didn't say I liked her _that _way, stupid!" Kiba exclaimed, blushing, still happy that he could comfort Hinata.

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#6: Break Away

_Word Count232_

Ino only met Sasuke's eyes once. They were 11- still in the academy, and they'd been paired to spar. Ino had seized the opportunity to try to start an interesting conversation with him, but it hadn't worked very well.

"...And so I said, 'It was the butler!'" Ino cracked up, but Sasuke stared at her like she was crazy. Ino blushed and avoided his eyes.

"Do you want to spar or not?" He asked blankly, readying himself.

"Okay then, let's do this!" Ino blurted, getting ready to fight. And they fought. Not very well, being only 11, but Sasuke was amazing. As Ino ducked a blow from his fist, she looked up at him in admiration.

And then he had looked down.

Her bright eyes met his dark ones, and Ino couldn't look away. Everything was in those eyes- dark and light and happiness and sadness and determination. She stopped moving and just gazed into his eyes, their depth making her heart beat and her hands shake and her face turn red.

And then he swung at her, and she was forced to duck, and she never again looked into the eyes of Sasuke Uchiha, but she never forgot that day and everything she saw in his eyes, and her wishing that she never had to break away from those dark orbs that told the story of a genius and an avenger.

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#7: Heaven

_Word Count169_

When Tenten first saw Neji, everything had disappeared and all she could see was Neji, Neji, Neji. All the colors blended into a mass of nothingness, nothing but Neji, Neji, Neji. And she thought, in her small, 7-year-old head, _This must be what Heaven is like._

And when Tenten was older and placed on the same team as Neji, she forgot everything and anything but Neji, Neji, Neji and that heavenly feeling when he looked at her.

And when Tenten was even older and cheering as Neji was made a jounin, she just laughed and laughed and just thought about Neji, Neji, Neji and that glow in his happy eyes, like he was free and drifting and heavenly like an angel or a sprit on the breeze.

And when Tenten grew even older, when she first held his hand, and she could see was Neji, Neji, Neji and she knew what heaven was like in his hand in hers and she knew she loved this heavenly Neji, Neji, Neji.

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#8: Innocence

_Word Count163_

Sakura convinced herself that she didn't love Rock Lee, but she couldn't tell herself she did not love when he handed her flowers and silly poems like a small boy in love. She could not convince herself she didn't like it when he smiled at her and promised her forever. She could not lie to herself enough to forget how much she liked it when he pledged his undying love for her in public like it was a given. She could not pretend she didn't love the way he said her name like it was the name of a heavenly being not of this world. The lies did not stretch to how much she liked the feeling of protection he gave her. She could not tell herself that she didn't love his innocence, his childish ways, his goofy hairstyle and winning grin, and she knew that she did love Rock Lee, because his innocence was just who he was and she loved that.

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#9: Drive

_Word Count399_

Iruka had a car. It was a beat-up old pick-up truck that got five miles to the gallon and had a mileage of over 1,000,000, but it had wheels and his salary really wouldn't allow him to buy a good car, so this piece of junk would have to do.

One day, Iruka was driving his clunker down the street, going home with a sofa in the back of the truck that had belong to an old friend who'd heard of Iruka's cash shortage and had given him his old couch for Iruka's new apartment. As he thought about his 'new' sofa and junky apartment , he realized that a woman was standing on the edge of the road, trying to thumb down cars. Iruka- being the good guy that he was- slowed to a stop beside the purple-haired woman, who grinned. Iruka realized with a sickening jolt that this was Anko. The woman had a famed bloodlust and an even more famous temper. Gulping, Iruka rolled down the car window and asked fearfully, "Need a ride?"

Anko grinned. Iruka thought for sure he saw fangs. "Thank God! I thought I was gonna have to walk!" She flung open the car door. "Headed into town?"

Iruka nodded nervously. She jumped into the passenger's seat, slamming the door behind her. Iruka put his foot on the gas and began to head to town as fast as his old car would go.

"What a junky car," Anko observed, poking at the fraying seats. Iruka blushed.

"It's the only one I can afford on a teacher's salary," He explained, taking a sharp turn that caused him to slam into the glass car window and Anko to fall on top of him. Blushing and hoping his nose wasn't bleeding, he helped her straighten up. She fixed her skirt. "You should buckle."

Anko laughed. "Bull. Like _I _buckle up. What, afraid you'll crash?" She asked flirtatiously. "Am I that distracting to you, Iruka?" Iruka thought about asking her why she knew his name, but she burst out. "Oh! Here's my stop!" And without Iruka even stopping the car, she opened the door and swung out. "Thanks, Iruka! You're a pretty cool guy!" Iruka heard her yell as he headed off. He blushed.

The next day, week, month, year, decade, Iruka found himself driving past that spot where he'd picked up Anko again and again.

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#10: Breathe Again

_Word Count144_

Hinata's breath caught in her throat everytime Naruto was in the room. She couldn't talk or think or breathe with him there, she just needed to see him like she needed to breathe. His blonde hair, his cheerful, goofy grin and bright eyes made her heart stop and made all words she wanted to say die on the way from her head to her mouth, never saying what she wanted to say to him. The intake of breath just felt so laborious because of his eyes and his hair and his smile and her wishing to run her hands through that hair and to feel those eyes upon her and to have that smile aimed at her.

But when he left the room, Hinata found that she could breathe again, and all she wanted was to stop, because that would mean he was there.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! D

Preview: Next installment: Gray, Insanity, Misfortune, Rainbow, Memory, Questioning, Blood, Fortitude, Silence + Smile


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto oturaN nwo t'nod I :remialcsiD

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#11: Memory

_Word Count191_

During Naruto's 2 ½ year absence, Hinata thrived on the memories he had left behind. She loved sitting in his favorite ramen house for hours, just thinking about him and very rarely ordering something, much to the annoyance of the owner. She started to adore the color orange because it reminded her of him.

But after a while she started to forget things, like the way his eyes sparkled when he was determined and the way he smelled. She started to struggle to picture him in her mind, calling on various elements to try to recreate a memory of him, but never succeeding.

And one night she woke screaming. She had dreamed he had returned. She had seen him from behind and rushed to say hello, but when he had turned he hadn't had a face, like it had melted off in the sun. After that dream, she sat up in bed for a while, calling on every memory she had to try to remember his smile and his eyes and his nose until she recreated his face in her mind's eye and fixed that memory there until he returned home.

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#12: Insanity

_Word Count166_

Whenever Anko went on a mission, Iruka always worried, because that was what Iruka did. He worried she would be hurt or captured or killed. And everytime she went away that worrying threatened to drive him insane.

Anko stopped by the Academy whenever she was leaving to say good-bye. It was always awkward for Iruka, because he knew that could be their last good-bye, but Anko was always just as upbeat as usual.

Those days when Anko was away on a mission were the only times when he thought he must've been insane to take the instructor job. He wanted to be out there with her, not showing 9-year-olds home to do a transformation jutsu.

And when she came back after each successful mission, Anko always laughed when he told her how worried he'd been. She always said, "You're insane, Iruka." And then she would hug him, tightly.

And Iruka knew that one time when she didn't come back, that he was going to go insane.

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#13: Misfortune

_Word Count313_

Ino was young when she saw her mother stop bustling around the kitchen and stare at the newspaper that lay spread out on the counter. "Inochi!" She had heard her mother cry out and seen her father come rushing into the kitchen. "Inochi, the Uchihas... They were all killed in the night.

And Ino felt her heart stop. "What?" She had asked her mother, her mind racing. This misfortune could not have fallen on Sasuke! I couldn't have! But her mother nodded sadly, and showed her the headline. Ino felt tears come to her eyes.

"B-But _Sasuke_!" Ino had exclaimed, and raced down the hall and out of the house.

"Ino!" Her mother and father had screamed at her back, but Ino kept running and running and running until she reached the Uchihas' former home. Staring up at it, she thought wildly, _Bad things like this don't happen to good people. The paper must've lied! _But the graves were lined up on the front lawn.

Ino felt about ready to cry, but she heard a sniffle from behind a shrub. Peering behind the flora, Ino almost cried out. _Sasuke! _She'd known he would be okay! He must've destroyed the killer!

But Sasuke Uchiha was crying.

Ino wanted to comfort him, but there was nothing she could do. She watched, terrified, as he let out a string of wordless shrieks, slashing at the bushes for ten or fifteen minutes, before standing in place, his breath heaving.

"I'll kill you!" He yelled at the sky. "I'll kill you good and dead! I-!" He stopped here and sank to the ground, sobs racking his breathing. Hugging his legs in front of him, his whispered the next words. Ino had to lean forward to hear him. "I am an avenger."

And she knew that the misfortune that had fallen on the Uchiha clan had changed Sasuke forever.

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#14: Smile

_Word Count: 450_

Tenten easily sidestepped a kunai thrown by one of the three missing-nin she, Neji, and Lee were hunting. Neji, to her left, cut off one missing-nin's charka flow while Rock Lee, to her right, expertly kicked another in the chest. Dodging another kunai, Tenten looked between her two teammates. Lee, whose opponent was on the ground clutching his stomach, kneed the bandit in the side of the head. As he fell, the man reached up and shoved a kunai with all his strength into Lee's chest. With an odd gasp, Lee crumpled to the ground.

"Lee!" Tenten shrieked. _Ohmygod. That can't be in the heart, it can't be. _But it looked awfully close to Tenten, who thrust three shurikun at her enemy and pulled at the charka-strings, willing her weapons to their target. The man went down with the shurikun buried in his side.

"Tenten! Check Lee!" Neji barked, hitting the man before him in the stomach. Tenten nodded mutely and leaped over the corpse over her opponent to her teammate.

"Lee!" She whispered urgently. "You okay?"

No answer.

"Lee!" She tried again, louder this time, shaking him by the shoulders. That kunai looked _very _close to the heart, and there were four other kunai buried in his flesh, and he was quite bloody... "LEE!"

Still no answer.

She was getting nervous. She glanced over at Neji, who was still locked in combat with the final missing-nin. "Lee, wake up!" She hissed anxiously, shaking him again. "C'mon, Lee, don't freak me out like this!"

He still was silent, his face impassive.

"Lee! C'mon, you can't go like this! You'll never get to go out with Sakura! You'll never get to be better than Neji!" Tenten shook him wildly. She didn't notice Neji had finished his battle and now kneeled on Lee's other side. "And Gai-sensei! What about Gai-sensei? Can you leave him like this? And Neji, and me! C'mon, Lee, you can't leave us!" She didn't realize she was yelling. "A-and-!"  
"Tenten... You are crying..." Lee sat up and reached up a wavering, dirty, bloody hand to wipe a couple of tears off his teammate's cheek, but only managed to get her face dirty. Tenten looked shocked for a moment- she hadn't realized she'd been crying, either.

"Don't ever scare us like that again!" Tenten yelled, roughly helping Lee to his feet. Lee smiled.

"I will try not to, Tenten, Neji," He said looking between his teammates. Tenten smiled shakily. She didn't understand why it felt like _she _was the one who had taken a kunai awfully close to the heart and why his smile made her shake like his wavering hand as he whipped a tear from her face.

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#15: Silence

_Word Count: 167_

Neji was quiet. That's just who Neji was. He was the master of silent impassiveness, of cold, empty gazes and wordless stares. Some people thought his hollow, nothing but a body, no soul or heart.

Tenten learned to speak his silence. After years together, she began to read the words he left in his silences, and the way he tilted his head when he was confused or looked down when he was sad. The two could just stand there, looking at each other, and have a complete conversation in the quiet emptiness. They filled the air with wordless tête-à-têtes and unspoken dialogues.

"It's creepy," Some said in hushed voices when they saw the two ninjas sitting in silence and Tenten suddenly burst out laughing.

"It's weird," Others mused when they saw Neji and Tenten standing quietly and staring at each other.

"It's love," Still others insisted when their gazes found Tenten and Neji, silent and wordless with silly grins plastered on their faces. And they were right.

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#16: Questioning

_Word Count226_

"Hey, Shikamaru? Can I ask you a question?" Ino perched on a low tree branch next to her teammate, who lay in the grass looking up. The dark haired man or boy (They were that awkward age between teen and adult) looked up at her and nodded to show he was listening. "Why are you so lazy?" The blonde girl or woman asked, looking down at him.

"I'm not," He said, yawning. "Why are _you_ so bossy?"

"I'm not," The girl-woman answered curtly. "What makes you think you're not?"

"I'm always working," The man-boy replied slowly. "What makes _you _think you're not bossy?"

"You're the one who tells us what to do," Ino told him, tilting her head to get a better look at him. "What sort of work do you do?"

"Up here," Shikamaru tapped his head. "Why do you think I tell you guys what to do?'

"'Cause you're smart," The blonde responded, frowning. "That the work you do?"

"Yup," Shikamaru sat up. "Can I ask _you _a question?"

"Yup. What is it?"

"Why," He stood and then sat next to her, "Are you so bothersome?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He just kissed her.

"What are you doing?" Choji asked, appearing at the wrong time to meet his teammates. Ino and Shikamaru broke apart, blushing.

"Why are _you _so nosy?" Ino questioned.

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#17: Blood

_Word Count: 398_

"Hinata?" Kiba knocked on the door of the Hyuuga household. "Hinata?"

He received no answer. Frowning, he looked around the huge house. Hinata _always _came when he called. Maybe she was training out back? Knocking again for good measure, he stepped around the side of the mansion. "Hinata?" He called. "We're supposed to meet Shino and Sensei! Hurry up! Hina-!"

He was cut off by a shriek, followed by the sound of something breaking. "Hinata?" He yelled, and began running, Akamaru at his side, sniffing the air. A stench filled their keen noses. Blood. "HINATA?" Kiba cried again, turning around to the back of the house. And there, lying next to the mansion's back wall, was Hinata. Kiba ran over to her. "Hinata?"

Hinata moaned and sat up. Her cheek was cut and dripping blood, and her legs were scratched up, and she stabbed her hand with the broken glass that lay around her. Her right leg lay at an odd angle, and she was bleeding pretty badly. But she still had enough blood to fill up her face.

"K-Kiba! W-What-?" She stuttered, wincing as she carefully maneuvered the shard of glass form her hand. But Kiba was looking up, to the wide, broken third story window.

"Did you fall out of that?" He asked, amazed. Hinata looked up and nodded.

"Y-Yeah. See, I was... cleaning, yeah, cleaning, a-and I s-slipped," She explained, flushed. Kiba helped her up; Akamaru licked her cuts. "I-I can't walk..."

"I can help that," Kiba said cheerfully. Putting her arm over his shoulder, he helped her walk. They were quiet for a minute, until Kiba spoke again. "I know you're lying. I saw Hanabi in the window. She _pushed _you out the _window?_ That is one demon sister."

Hinata let out a little shriek and stepped away from Kiba, only to crumple to the ground due to her bad leg. Kiba crouched next to her. "Kiba! P-Please don't tell anyone! I-I don't want them to know!" She exclaimed, trying to stand.

"But, Hinata, she could be stopped. You wouldn't be hurt anymore!" Kiba cried out, making to help her up.

"Promise me you won't tell!" Kiba had never seen her so passionate about anything. "Promise me!"

"Hina-!"

"Please!"

Kiba frowned. "Okay," He relented, and helped her up. He didn't bring up that day again, but he never forgave Hanabi for Hinata's spilt blood.

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#18: Rainbow

_Word Count 167_

Lee was green. After all, he was the Handsome Green Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village. But Sakura, Sakura was every color of the rainbow.

Red. Lee saw red in her passion, her dedication to her village and her team and her friends and her family.

Orange. Orange was the fire in her eyes that burned within her when she fought for those she loved.

Yellow. Yellow was what Lee saw in her smile, yellow like the sun, lighting up his world.

Green. Green was seen in her eyes, her cool and unruffled green eyes like the forest before man has defiled it in the early morn.

Blue. Lee saw blue in her flowing, fluid movements, like a river running down a mountain, working so hard but seeming not to work at all.

Purple. He saw purple in her words, unflattering, but loving at the same time, cold and warm.

Sakura was every color known to man in Lee's eyes. And Lee loved every color in her.

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#19: Gray

_Word Count 287_

Kurenai's hair started to go gray when she was 38. She supposed it was because of the stress of the ninja's way of life, the fear in her heart everyday for her former teammates, her former students, her village, her love, herself. At 39, Kurenai was already dyeing her hair to keep the gray from showing.

Asuma laughed. "Kurenai, it looks so fake!" He had exclaimed after her first dye-job from behind a cloud of gray smoke for a cigarette. Kurenai had blushed and stroked her newly darker hair.

"But I'm going gray!" She had explained. Asuma had raised his eyebrows.

"So?" He'd asked, stroking her hair. "I like your grays."

Kurenai frowned. "I don't. They make me feel old."

"You are old," Asuma laughed and threw his arm over her shoulder. Kurenai smiled sheepishly.

At 40, Kurenai had stopped dyeing her hair black. She went for blonde.

"Kurenai!" Asuma had yelled. "What the heck?"

"It's blonde. Like it?" She'd asked.

"Nope," He'd said honestly.

At 41, she'd tried brunette, with the same results.

At 42, she'd tried red, to no avail.

At 43, she'd become a brunette again, with no different answer.

At 44, she'd dyed her hair purple, causing Asuma to retch in the nearest trash receptacle.

At 45, Kurenai went for dark hair again. Asuma did not complain as much.

At 46, she'd cut it so short her grays were unnoticeable, but her skin was too pale to keep that.

At 47, she'd gone back to blonde. "What's wrong with your regular hair?" Asuma had asked, staring at her incredibly fake locks.

"Its gray!" She'd exclaimed.

"And what's wrong with gray?" Asuma had demanded. She didn't know.

At 48, Kurenai dyed her hair gray.

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#20: Fortitude 

_Word Count243_

At first, Sasuke had thought Sakura weak in body and sprit. She looked all too ready to quit, to surrender, to throw in the towel, at any sign of trouble. She looked like she'd crumple to the ground if you touched her too hard. She had no grit, no staying power. He doubted her courage.

But in the time they were teammates, she proved him wrong on every count. Sakura proved to have even more guts then he and Naruto combined. She fought fights that were already lost and stood and smiled when she should've been sobbing on the ground, withering in pain. Her courage shone like seven suns.

He never once heard Sakura say they should quit, even when he himself had strongly suggested it.

He never once saw her run from a fight.

He never once saw her pull up the white flag.

All she needed was a little help.

And she could be great.

The best.

Amazing.

It scared him- a little bit- that he had been so wrong about her strength. But it amazed him, everytime. Everytime he saw the Flower of the Hidden Leaf Village (as they started calling her) fight, he felt something in him jump with her every move, her every non-stopping move, her every not-quitting grin, her every courageous leap, and smiled.

She had gotten a little help.

And she was great.

The best.

Amazing.

Except, really, she hadn't really needed any help at all.

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A/N: Please review, dearhearts!


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